The following day found Lance in the potion’s classroom deep in the dungeon of Hogwarts’s castle. He was joined by Claire and a seventh year Gryffindor student who McGonagall had agreed to assess the teen’s potion making ability. The teen was currently in the middle of brewing what was meant to be an antidote to common potions. This was supposedly a potion first year students would have to learn though it’s overall instructions were basic.
Claire had shown no problems brewing the concoction, only asking for directions on where to find the ingredients from the classroom’s supplies. Otherwise she was showing herself to be well versed in the various techniques that go into potion making. Which made the one thing she couldn’t do the most unfortunate, as it was probably the most important.
“There” Claire said as she finished the second anticlockwise stir “just one last step,” She looked to the seven-year student who nodded and stepped forward with her wand raised. With a wave of the wand the fire underneath the cauldron that had been holding the potion went out and the liquid stopped bubbling.
“How does it look?” Lance asked, looking at the odd concoction.
“Perfect” Claire said proudly. The seven-year student whose name was Jane didn’t look as confident in that answer.
“It looks good” Jane said “Claire why don’t you step outside so Lance and I can talk”
“Alright” Claire said cheerfully and began making her way out the classroom.
“Make sure to stay right outside the door” Lance warned.
“Will do” she assured and stepped out the room. Jane made her way over to a cupboard and pulled out a glass bottle along with a piece of parchment.
“So, what did you think?” Lance asked the student.
“She has the basic techniques down” Jane answered as she began the process of bottling the potion, “Her knowledge is also really good for someone her age. The only problem is her lack of magic”
“Yes, I assumed that would be an issue” Lance agreed “but otherwise her skills are acceptable?”
“Yeah” Jane confirmed “I would put her at a third-year student’s level due to her knowledge and techniques, but without magic her potions will be useless”
“Understood” Lance nodded, he wouldn’t tell Jane this, but the lack of magic would only be a temporary setback. Depending how other plans workout in this movie Lance would be willing to help pay for her to get the wizard bloodline.
“Also, I spoke with professor Snape,” Jane continued after sitting down the now bottled potion “he looked at the lists you gave to Professor McGonagall”
“What did he say?” Lance asked hopefully, that list held items that could completely change the pace at which the team’s strength grew.
“He recognized all the materials” the student explained “but he said we don’t get a lot of them in the school. Or even in the country”
“Any way to get them imported here?” Lance questioned eagerly
“He said maybe but you’ll have to work that out with him directly” Jane answered and handed the parchment to Lance. On it was a list of ingredients that Lance had brought from God’s dimension. There were also several notes written on it which explained the country that they would need to be exported from as well as an estimate on the prices. Lance couldn’t keep a full smile from showing as he looked at the list. This was exactly what he was hoping for, the benefit of having an entire world of magic users created such a unique opportunity for the team.
“Thank you” he said happily “I genuinely appreciate your time and assistance”
“No problem” the student shrugged nonchalantly “McGonagall is giving me house points to help”
“Well I’ll make sure to let her know how helpful you were” Lance assured the teen. With that he bid the young woman farewell and made his way into the hallway. Thankfully, Claire was waiting patiently right by the door. She seemed to have mellowed down a bit since yesterday. Letting her walk around the castle the previous day had definitely helped.
“Let’s head to the library” Lance said and led the two down the hallway.
“How did I do?” Claire asked as they walked, her previous bravado fading after being sent out of the room.
“Very good” Lance assured her “Jane said you had potential. I’m going to see if you can sit in on some classes tomorrow to refine your skills”
Claire let out an excited squeal that bounce painfully through the empty halls “I told you I would be a potion master”
“You did” Lance smiled at the girl’s joy “I’m looking forward to working with you in the future”
Claire beamed at Lance’s words and the two fell into a comfortable silence. Lance was actually incredibly happy with the teen’s skill; potions hadn’t been something he had considered to be a priority for the team. If Otis, the botanist, could learn to grow some of the magical plants from this world the team would definitely be on the road to success. Plus, if he could secure the special ingredients through Snape, they would jump in power extremely quick.
Otis was currently meeting with the herbology professor Sprout and hopefully learning what plants he could take back to the Lobby. Once they knew what Otis could work with Lance could have Claire study up on potions that used those ingredients. Any kind of potion could be useful depending on what movie they would be sent to next. Personally, Lance wanted to get a potion that would allow for breathing underwater before they dealt with a movie like Jaws or Megalodon.
The castle was unsurprisingly a challenge to navigate for first timers, but Lance’s enhanced intelligence and mental capacity let him memorize the map instructions he had gotten from McGonagall. This meant he and Claire made their way to the library with little trouble. The path though leads them through a large courtyard where students of all ages were milling around. Due to the attacks students were discouraged from travelling alone, which led to a boost in students hanging out in well crowded places.
“Josh!” Claire shouted as she recognized her teammate in the crowd. The jock was walking through the crowd with Matt and one of the newbies besides him. Claire charged forward eager to tell of her positive evaluation. Lance followed at a slower pace, he would need to tell the other veterans about how valuable Claire would be for the team and make sure she joined a team for a bonus mission.
This was looking to be a very profitable movie for the team with little difficulty. The only warning sign that would change this came from a low hissing sound. It was too quiet for anyone in the crowd to hear but the screaming that followed it was impossible to miss.
Everyone stopped to look towards the end of the courtyard where a fourth-year student had a large snake clamped on to her arm. The snake’s long body was wrapped around the students body and seemed to be squeezing tightly. Josh was the first of the team to react and dashed forward. At the same time students began to scream and flee from the serpent. Some managed to pull their wands out but seemed to be struggling to think of a spell that would help.
Josh arrived at the girl’s side and pulled out his hammer, which he kept strapped to his side at all times. He readied himself to swing at the snake but couldn’t find a place to strike that wouldn’t hurt the girl. Lance and Matt arrived a second later and Lance whipped out his Papyrus. He had it slip into the snake’s mouth and wrap around its snout. Then he started pulling, trying to pry it off the girl. Matt began to cast his healing spell but was cut off by another scream on the other side of the courtyard. Suddenly hisses and screams were everywhere as several more snakes appeared and attacked students.
Josh left the girl and charged at a snake that hadn’t wrapped around anyone yet. He could see now they were almost ten feet in length and had dark green scales. Josh swung at a snake that had been about to bite into a student, he could feel a solid crunch as he made contact. He had his Divine Energy flowing though him raising his strength past what a normal human could reach. The snake slammed headfirst into the ground and a dark fluid began leaking out of its nostrils. Josh paused as he saw the damage, he had caused but another scream quickly pulled him from those thoughts.
Claire and the other newbie were still in the courtyard, frozen in fear as they saw the snakes wreaking havoc amongst the students. A lone snake rose up behind the two, preparing to strike at Claire. Josh shot forward and managed to tackle the teen out of the snake’s strike.
“Go get Logan!” He ordered the girl as he rose back up. The snake was quick to recover and shot at Josh. The jock swung with his hammer but missed the head, resulting in the snake clamping down on his shoulder. Josh shouted as he felt the serpent’s fangs pierce into his muscles. In one swift motion the snake wrapped it’s body around Josh, but the teen managed to get his arms up to keep his body safe for the moment. The snake began to squeeze tighter and Josh struggled to hold the beast at bay. A shout from behind could be heard and Matt’s energy attack crashed into the snake, leaving it’s scales burned. The shock made the snake loosen its grasp and gave Josh the chance to free his arm and strike the serpent’s head.
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Claire had run out as Josh had instructed but the other newbie hadn’t listened. Instead he stood frozen in fear until another snake came at him and bit directly down on his neck. Josh watched in horror as the newbie let out a strangled cry before the snake bit down again and pulled him to the ground. Since this wasn’t a team battle there wasn’t any penalty to losing a team member but that didn’t make it any easier on Josh. Once again, he could only watch as another person’s life fading right in front of him. Josh let out a shout of rage and frustration before heaving his hammer and charging forward.
Matt fired another Saisu at a charging snake, but it only caused the creature to pause for a moment before continuing its path. The mammodo cast his dome shield spell Seoshi which prevented the snake from reaching him. After it’s original charge proved unable to pass the barrier it simply moved on to easier pray. Matt took this moment to look around and analyze the situation. There were at least ten snakes wreaking havoc across the courtyard and more seemed to appear randomly. Some of the students had managed to finally start fighting back but there were already a few who were laying on the ground bleeding from bite wounds.
Josh was on one side of the field chasing and slaying serpents as quickly as he could reach them. His strength was great enough to allow quick kills, but it was clear he didn’t have much combat experience and was just going off instinct. If more than two snakes attacked him at once he’s be in trouble. Lance was on the other side of the courtyard and was surprisingly handling himself well. Once the students started fighting back, he had made his way towards them and worked with them to create a line to hold back any attacking snakes. He used his papyrus to bind any serpent he could and held it while students unloaded any curses and spells they could into the beast.
Matt looked at the students who were still on the ground bleeding, he had enough energy to heal them but that would take too long and leave him exposed for attack. He was just about to call out for Lance to try and work out a way to get close enough to fit in his dome when a ground shaking crash rang across the courtyard. A giant form came slithering out of a destroyed wall, giving two important facts about the snakes. They were definitely basilisks and they were nothing more than newborns.
This new serpent shared the dark green scales though was a few shades lighter and was nearly 20 feet in length. It’s long tongue shot out, tasting the air and it let out a deep hiss at the students before it.
Matt felt his heart drop as he looked at the magical beast, this wasn’t something he could handle with only Josh and Lance. A moan came from one of the students laying on the ground slowly bleeding out. Reminding Matt, he was also the only chance these students may have to survive. He needed to save them and also hold back this serpent till help arrived. Nothing in his arsenal could do that though, his only few combat spells were either too weak or would leave him drained and unable to heal anyone. He had the moonlight stone but that still wouldn’t let him do both. He silently cursed himself for not buying more combat abilities.
A defiant shout caught Matt’s attention. A pair of students were just in front of the largest basilisk. One was on the ground holding his arm that looked to have been bitten by one of the smaller snakes but still held on to his wand in his injured hand. The other stood between him and the beast with his wand raised high. Clearly, he had no intention to let the beast hurt the other student.
The act stirred something in Matt. The look the two boy’s had while they were facing certain death, refusing to backdown while the other was in danger. When was the last time Matt had someone he would stand against death with? He fought to survive with his teammates every movie, but it was always clear they were fighting for their own survival. Their cooperation was just a tool to make the movies easier, there was no bond like those two students shared.
The last person who Matt had shared that kind of bond with, had shred it beyond repair.
“Kelly” Matt growled as something within him snapped. Suddenly his spell book he was holding began glowing even brighter and seemed to open to a new page all on its own. He gave only a single glance at the page, his eyes unfocused but he memorized the spell instantly.
Matt charged forward, dropping his dome, and cast his new spell
“Raajia Saifojio”
In front of the two students, between them and the basilisk a translucent pink wall of energy rose from the ground. Three more rose around the courtyard, creating a large box that managed to hold all the injured students within. Once all the walls had risen, they expanded and created a roof above them. Matt stopped once the barrier was completed.
“Hey” he called out to the few healthy students who were caught within “kill all the snakes!” Three snakes were within the boundaries when the spell was cast, thankfully the spell had been just big enough for a couple student’s from Lance’s side to be inside. So, they were quick to start firing at the beasts.
The standing student who had been protecting the other looked like he wanted to deny the request, but he noticed small pink particles had appeared around the wound. These particles were appearing on any student who had been injured and in front of everyone’s eyes they began to close the wounds.
Matt had stopped near an injured student and was watching the healing process when the large basilisk struck the barrier with its tail. The first attack didn’t appear to have any effect neither did the second. While this looked to be secure, Matt could feel it had caused a small amount of damage.
It hits once every three seconds. After five hits I’ll have to repair the wall with two percent of my heart energy. With my current reserves it will be five minutes until I will have to pull from my amulet. Students will need at least seven minutes to fully recover from their injuries. Josh and Lance will have to hold their own for seven minutes or until Logan arrives.
Matt’s mind was in a flurry as he took in all the information around him and processed it in an instant. This coupled with the few particles that were surrounding him was more than enough evidence to show he had unlocked his genetic constraint. He was finally on his path to true strength in this realm.
Celebrating however would have to wait, the healing he was receiving would most likely extend how long he could stay in this state but wouldn’t last forever. Matt dug his heals in the ground and stared harshly at the basilisk before him, this may just become a war of attrition.
Lance had been a little taken back by the sudden spell which took up over sixty percent of the courtyard. Mostly because it had appeared not even a foot from him, but he couldn’t afford to let that distract him. He had managed to direct the students into a circle formation in order to keep any snakes from sneaking up, but this quickly changed to a halfmoon shape as they all left their backs to the new wall. Launching his papyrus forward Lance snagged another snake as it charged the group, a second later releasing it as a combo of spells sent it flying.
Lance grimaced as he felt his Faith energy running low, with only the D rank bloodline he didn’t have enough to support long battles. He had maybe a minute left until he ran out and then it would be up to the students to keep the snakes back. Taking a risk Lance turned to see how Josh was doing, he’d rather they both were on the same side but now there was no way to make that happen. Josh thankfully was still going strong and was acting as a barrier between the snakes and the few students who had been left on his side.
Given they both had D rank bloodlines it could be assumed the stepbrothers had similar size energy pools so Josh most likely was starting to run low. The only difference was Lance’s weapon of choice drained his energy to use while Josh’s aided in controlling his energy. Meaning though Josh didn’t have the versatility Lance did, he consumed energy at a lower rate and could fight longer.
Lance decided to look into a possible weapon to use when he got back to the Lobby. He had purchased an unlimited ammo pistol, but he and the others had left their firearms in Gwen’s inventory in order to avoid any problems from the school staff.
Another snake rushing at the group pulled Lance’s focus back to the moment and he quickly launched his papyrus. After this serpent was sent flying like the others Lance began to debate using the last of his energy to create a crude weapon. His thoughts were cut off as a loud battle cry came from above them. He and the students looked up in time to watch Logan fall directly on top of the basilisk, glowing feet first. He must have jumped from the first window he could find that overlooked the courtyard.
The attack seemed to be extremely effective against the beast as scales went flying. It wasn’t enough to kill it but there was a clear dent in it’s head from the impact when it rose back up. Logan also recovered quickly, rising to his feet. His jade colored energy covering his arms, changing his skin to jade scales. Without a word he charged at the creature, jumping high to get another head shot. Unfortunately, the serpent saw this coming and used his tail to knock the dragonslayer to the side.
Logan landed with surprising agility and began running towards the snake again. This time when the beast struck with its tail Logan managed to grab on, using his enhanced hands to easily pierce through the tough scales. Using the tail’s momentum Logan launched himself back onto the beast’s head. Once on top the dragon slayer began to expand his magic till, he was covered in a shroud of jade energy.
The basilisk began to shake it’s head in order to dislodge Logan, but he had already finished his preparations. The energy surrounding him shifted and formed a blade over his right hand which solidified into a jade blade. With one quick hop and a powerful chop, the basilisk’s head fell to the ground.
Everyone including the members of team West America were stunned by the display of power. They stared at the dragon slayer as his blade once again turned into pure energy and then dispersing into the air. The fight may have been short, but it clearly took a lot out of him. His breathing was heavy, and he was covered in sweat.
Thankfully, the basilisk’s death worked to scare off the rest of the snakes in the area. A collective sigh of relief passed through the courtyard as they vanished, they would have to be dealt with but at least everyone was safe for the moment. Lance and Josh quickly made their way to Logan who had met Matt at the edge of the barrier.
“You can come out now they all left” Josh said when he saw Matt was still powering the spell.
“I’ll need another few minutes” Matt explained “I’m healing everyone in here”
“A full coverage barrier that also heals” Lance admired “that’s a really great spell”
“Thanks” Matt said “it came at a great time”
“Your eyes” Logan pointed out with a knowing smile.
“Yup also unlocked my genetic constraint” Matt showed a proud smile at his accomplishment. A commotion came from the other side of the courtyard as the teachers finally arrived on the scene and began to question the students.
“Finally,” Lance began “they took longer than I” he was cut off as the barrier suddenly vanished. Matt’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to the ground, shaking violently.
“Matt!” Josh cried out and rushed to his teammates side.
“Don’t worry” Logan waved his hand “that’s normal for someone who just reached the first stage”
“Here” Lance moved Josh to the side and laid a hand on Matt “I have a little energy left” He let the remainder of his Faith energy flow into the mammodo, it was only a little but it would numb the pain a small amount.
“What do you think caused the basilisk to come up here?” Josh asked once Matt was being tended to.
“They needed food” Logan said gravely “and this won’t be the only time”
“What do you mean?” Lance asked
“I got a notification when I killed that thing” the dragonslayer explained “it was called a juvenile basilisk, meaning there’s still a mother in the school”